Electro-Pop Artist Von Sell Premieres “I Insist”

Listen to this Brooklyn-based musician get lost in nostalgia and energetic synth melodies.

Brooklyn-based electronic musician Von Sell has brought the meaning of “bedroom pop” to another level. His 2015 single “Ivan” that delivered a production and style reminiscent of Rostam Batmanglij’s 2009 Discovery project, but through a fresh, DIY perspective. Today, Von Sell releases “I Insist,” another electronic orchestration showcasing his knack for songwriting—though this time, the process that proved more difficult than in the past.

"I don’t think I’ve ever worked on a song for as long and as fiercely as I have on ‘I Insist’. I really wrestled with this one—for the longest time it just wouldn’t do what I wanted it to. It refused—until I understood I had to finish the song not on mine, but on it’s terms. In many ways it was the track that said: ‘I insist’ to me. ‘I insist’ on being a straight forward love song, ‘I insist’ on being sort of prosaic and not exactly multilayered, ‘I insist’ on a complete lack of ambiguity—which really is my comfort zone.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Entering with distorted strings, Von Sell’s emotional vocals both complement and overpower the soundscape, striking a balance necessary for his busy production. The tension of the track is frustrating and sexy all at once as he fights but ultimately surrenders to a destructive relationship.

"When I wrote the chorus, I was thinking back to a relationship that I was terribly nostalgic about at the time, so much in fact, I was even nostalgic about the awful, agonizing parts—you know, where you just excel at being dysfunctional and self-destructive. Hence the lyric come on and hurt me now—not in a masochistic way, more in a ‘it reminds me of you, of ‘us’’ kinda way."